Oakland’s interim Superintendent of Schools, Jeffery Feifer, penned a letter to Oakland parents and the greater Oakland community to introduce several new initiatives.
The majority of the letter is devoted to explaining why full day kindergarten is advantageous for Oakland’s children, how it will impact the school budget, and why the program is being implemented in Oakland now.
Below are some pertinent Q&A s concerning the kindergarten program slated to begin in the autumn of 2013. Other subjects covered include a new literacy initiative and an expansion of the Math in Focus program. The entire letter is available by clicking here.
Additional information will be available during the March 27th school budget hearing scheduled for 7:30 pm held at Valley Middle School.
Q&A excerpts
Q. Why do we have the space for these additional classrooms now when we haven’t had the room in the past and how can we afford the additional teachers necessary to operate two full day kindergartens in each school?
A. Our enrollment next year will be declining and will continue to decline moderately for the foreseeable future. This has created the availability of one additional classroom in each elementary school and the ability to provide staffing for the program without increasing the total number of teachers in the district.
Q. Why are we implementing the program now?
A. This is the ideal time to implement full day. (1) We have the resources and we can be avoid implementing the program according to the state’s schedule (there are already several bills in the legislature that mandate full day) rather than when it’s best for us in terms of space, personnel, and resources. (1) The new state assessments are only two years away and the new standards are already in place. (3) This will ensure that Oakland’s students will have a similar schedule as their peers in Franklin Lakes and Wyckoff.
Q. How can we be sure that we are not creating a program that will place too much academic pressure on our children and, alternatively, how can we be sure that we are not creating a program that will simply be providing time for additional play and recreation?
A. There is already a tremendous amount of academic pressure placed on kindergarten students due to a top-down approach to curriculum and instruction caused by high-stakes testing, more rigorous standards (Common Core State Standards) and the new assessment program (“PARCC” — Partnership for the Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers), as well as ever expanding curricula. A full day will provide time for to focus on all subject areas — with emphasis on literacy and mathematics, the foundations for academic success. For example, we can build in ninety minutes a day of uninterrupted literacy time. It will also provide time for students to enjoy independent activities, investigations, inquiry, problem solving and, yes, will also allow for reading aloud, story time, and recreation. Through a full day program, we can do all this for our students in a less rushed, less stressful, and within a more developmentally appropriate learning environment.